


Seven Nights in Cabin Thirteen

by Xx_simpingfornicodiangelo_xX



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Confessions, Drug Addiction, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, How Do I Tag, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Relationship, The Tower of Nero (Trials of Apollo) Spoilers, Trans Will Solace
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29640597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xx_simpingfornicodiangelo_xX/pseuds/Xx_simpingfornicodiangelo_xX
Summary: How do you explain to someone that he still wanted his drugs, and he didn’t want to leave the cabin because he knew he would leave to go find some before he would even think about going to his own cabin at this point.“You don’t have to leave,” Nico said, perhaps sensing his agitation. “I have a shower in the cabin.”“What the fuck do you mean you have a shower in the cabin?” The shock of this knowledge get him out of his stuck mind. “How did you get plumbing in here? How did Chiron allow this?”~~~~~Will Solace relapses and finds himself in Nico di Angelo's cabin for the next seven days in an attempt to isolate from what drove him to relapse. Over the next week, they bond, and Nico learns more about Will during their first two days together than he ever had in the past.Trans!Will because I like to self-project.Drug tw!! Dysphoria tw!!
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 1
Kudos: 38





	1. Night One

Will never thought that he would ever appreciate his first monster attack. He was seven years old, and in hindsight his teacher probably only worked there to prey on young demigods (at least, that’s why he suspects the attack happened so early in his life compared to other demigods). But when Lee Fletcher sat him down 4 years later and told him that he was trans and would now be known as Lee instead of his birth name, Will knew that everything happened for a reason.

After many conversations with Lee about how he knew (gods bless that man’s patience) and with an older Athena camper who’s special interest dealt in psychology, Will realized the reason that he always felt disconnected from his mom and sisters in Austin was because he was like Lee. He was a boy.

Telling people wasn’t easy. Of course his older brother had to know; he was the one who introduced Will to this concept. Telling the rest of camp was as easy as telling Chiron, who told Dionysus, who always threatened to turn anyone into a dolphin if they talked shit about any trans kid. Telling his mom... that had to be the hardest part. How was he supposed to tell them? The only similarities they all had were that they were all musically inclined and that they were all girls.

Apparently, Will forgot that Naomi Solace was a musician. The music industry has more queers than an all girl’s school GSA. Her only questions were “Alright, what’s your name then, kiddo?” and “When do you want to set up an appointment with a therapist?” As for his siblings, well, let’s just say the oldest, Frankie, always knew. And it didn’t take long for seven-year-old Mickey to cut her doll-that-somehow-looked-exactly-like-Will’s hair and change his notes from high to low when she accompanied his singing on violin, as part of voice training.

Four years has passed since then and Will can hardly believe it. He’s stealth back at Austin because it’s just easier that way, but since a quarter of the camp knew him since he was seven, he figured there was no point; it isn’t like anyone treated him as though he wasn’t a man-- er, boy-- at camp anyways. So, life went on. He got his period for the first time during the Battle of Manhattan, that was no fun, but luckily Thalia was cool about it and made sure not to tell anyone. He started binding shortly afterwards, got a couple bruises hear and there. Kayla yelled at him for a week for that one, he remembers fondly. Discovered why it’s better to take off your contacts in the shower... that day isn’t such a fond memory. That was the first and last time he ever made himself bleed. Although, he will say that’s what sparked his interest in medicine and what made him the best doctor Camp Half Blood had seen in decades at the mere age of 15 years old. Life at camp was good, if a bit dull. He got used to the routine and the constant influx of damaged campers, the siblings and friends, and the always-perfect Texas Barbecue and Coke.

That is, until the War Between the Camps happened. Lou Ellen woke Will up before sundown that day and told him their plan. They were to hide in the tall grasses and wait for Camp Jupiter to show their ugly faces. Cecil had the genius idea to paint their faces and arms black so they’d blend into the night better, and Will supposes in the hubub of everything they forgot that his hair nearly (”nearly”) glows, even at night. Until Mr. Nico “I’m so smart, I nearly killed myself shadow travelling” di Angelo pointed it out. Whatever, it made sense at the time. They won the war against Gaea, not without sacrifice, and they finally, finally got past all the wars and destruction and health issues that they were able to just hang out and get to know each other as friends.

And boy, was their friendship amazing. Nico had the best taste in music from Will’s eyes, and that’s saying something because Will is a music snob. Nico could be a little stubborn at times, but that’s alright because so was Will (”Gods damn it, Nico, if you don’t take your medication right this second I will-” “You’ll what? Hm? You’ll force it down my throat? Last I checked that was abuse.”). They fit together so perfectly and became fast friends.

It wasn’t always sunshine and lollipops, though. What is, for a demigod? Will relapsed once and passed out right in front of Nico’s cabin. He was crashing from an exciting high that he hadn’t experienced in so long, and he felt so tired and ashamed of himself. Methamphetamine was a goddamned bitch, so while he was coming out of withdrawals, he made Nico promise not to let him leave the cabin for a week were simmering down. He had to make sure something like this never happened again. They Iris Messaged Chiron and explained the situation, and he understood. He made sure to contact the older son of Dionysus who had been Will’s therapist in the past and said what had happened and they agreed on a session for soon after Will got mostly over his cravings.

So now they had a week of downtime together. Awesome.

“Solace, do you need anything? Are you okay?” Nico asked towards the end of the first full day that withdrawals were over.

“I’m-- fuck. I’m fine. I swear.” He responded unconvincingly.

“That’s not what you said last night... no offense, but I’m not fully inclined to believe you when you look like shit.”

“It- It... it’s not something I’d like to talk about, if that’s alright. And... don’t tell Clarisse, please.”

“I’m not going to tell anyone, don’t worry. But I would like to know if this is going to be a common occ--” Before he could even finish asking, Will was already shaking his head and responding.

“One-time thing only, I promise. Gods, I’m sorry I showed up here at all.”

“Woah, buddy. That’s not what I was saying at all. You’re my best friend, I’m glad you came here.” Will almost couldn’t believe what Nico was saying. Then again, did Nico have very many friends? Nico himself certainly didn’t seem to think so. “In any case, you don’t have to explain what happened, or what led up to this, or anything like that. I don't need to know. What I do need you to do, however, is take a shower. I’m sorry to say so, but you smell like ass.”

“Yeah well, I’m…” He couldn’t finish his sentence. How do you explain to someone that he still wanted his drugs, and he didn’t want to leave the cabin because he knew he would leave to go find some before he would even think about going to his own cabin at this point.

“You don’t have to leave,” Nico said, perhaps sensing his agitation. “I have a shower in the cabin.”

“What the fuck do you mean you have a shower in the cabin?” The shock of this knowledge get him out of his stuck mind. “How did you get plumbing in here? How did Chiron allow this?”

“I helped design my cabin, and while I may not have all the experience in architecture that Annabeth does, I do know a thing or two. I did meet with Isambard Kingdom Brunel, you know.”

“I did not know. You- Who is Isambard Kingdom Brunel?” Will asked

“Oh, some civil engineer who is like a million years old.” Will scoffed at that.

“You’re one to talk,” he teased. He was never going to let go of the fact that Nico was technically like 80 years old.

“Oh hush, William.” William… never Will, like most people. William… like he was something special, something that deserved three syllables. “Anyways, like I was saying: take a shower. You look like you were up mowing all of camp with a flashlight.”

Knowing Will’s reaction to drugs, that wasn’t unlikely. He stood up. “Lead the way? I’ve never been around your cabin before.”

Nico’s cabin was unlike any others. Using some sort of Doctor Who-like technology, there was a living room, a kitchen, and one room. Surprisingly, the walls were all light or pastel, a stark contrast from Nico’s general (and unintentional) punk-rock appearance. However, the furniture was all a deep black. Nico led him to his room, a minimalistic one with a bed, a desk, and a lamp. Will wondered where all the personalization was, but made no comment.

“Here’s the shower,” Nico pointed to yet another room in this somehow huge cabin. “If you see something amiss or odd… ignore it.” Will didn’t want to think of the implications of that sentence.

He stepped in the shower and oh my gods, watching the dirt and grime wash off him after his 8 hour high-- which he did not want to think about (and not just because the author doesn’t want to taint his search history), it was too embarrassing-- was a wonderful feeling. He was still tired. He didn’t know why, it didn’t used to be this hard. However, he was pretty sure that he tried to clean the entire outside of the hypnos cabin before going over to the Hades cabin to do the same. This was the first and last time Will would ever thank the gods for Nico’s poor sleeping patterns, he had heard him outside and came to get him before he tired himself out more.

He nearly passed out in the shower again but managed to make it out. He looked around the well-stocked bathroom and realized something that he probably should have bothered to notice before: he didn’t have any clothes with him. Fuck. He wrapped a (black) towel around his chest because he didn’t think his body could take anymore binding and prayed to Dionysus that Nico didn’t notice that his chest wasn’t exactly male.

Luckily, the first thing Nico did say was “Is that a tattoo?”

Will looked down at his sun. “Yeah, it is,” he smiled. He remembered the night he did it, it was kind of hard. He ordered a tattoo gun off amazon and had Frankie do it for him shortly after the Battle of Manhattan. Some people might think it’s in honor of his dad, which is fine. It was really for Lee Fletcher, though. His mom totally freaked, for a really long time, but after his C-PTSD diagnoses she realized that whatever works for him works as long as it isn’t drugs or self harm. He knows she wants a future for him that doesn’t involve music, and that’s why she freaked. She thought it would ruin his chances. But it’s right on his shoulder, only visible in tank tops or no shirt.

"It… its to honor the man who taught me I could be myself." Will said after a small pause.

"That's a very lovely sentiment. If he made that much of an impact on you, he must be a very cool person."

"He was." Will knew that Nico heard the was by the way that Nico nodded solemnly. "I uh… I don't wish to be more of a bother, but do you mind if I go to bed now? That shower really helped."

"Yeah, of course. I can take the couch, you know where my bed is-"

"No, absolutely not." Nico sighed softly, as though he expected this. "I can sleep on the couch, in Austin I actually prefer it to my bed."

"That's-- no offense William, but that's weird."

"It feels less lonely to me," Will protested, then let out a huge yawn.

"Alright cowboy-" Will smiled at Nico's nickname for him "-get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

"Nighty night, Neeks. Love you." he didn't miss the small smile on Nico's face before he walked away. Will has always been very loose with his 'I love you's like that. He figured it's better to say it too much than not enough.

He had found his old stash the night before, the one that Clovis had helped him forget about. He couldn't stop himself from thinking about last nights events. At the time,he told himself that he shouldn't do anything with it, and put it out of his mind for about a week, but eventually his urge to smoke overcame his self-control. He went on a rampage of cleaning and was absolutely certain he looked like a madman. The worst part is, he didn't even know why he did it. It was as though his rehabilitation hadn't even happened, as though this was something that was as natural as getting a cup of coffee in the morning. He was so mad at himself, so embarrassed.

These thoughts occupied his mind until he fell asleep about an hour after his last words to Nico. He slept with no dreams, for the first time in about a month.


	2. Morning Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> here we go >:)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided that this story will be longer than I expected. Probably broken up into morning/night.

When Will woke up that morning, it surprised him to see that Nico was still in the cabin. In fact, Nico was making breakfast at an electric stove

"Good morning, William," Nico said without turning around. How Nico knew he was there was beyond him, but he replied cordially. 

"Morning, di Angelo! What are you cooking?" Will tried to talk the lump out of his throat. He still felt guilty over being there in the first place, but he knew Nico wouldn't care for that at all. "It smells delightful!" 

It had to be about the best thing that Will had ever smelled, who knew Neeks was such a good chef?

"Eggs in purgatory." Nico deadpanned. "Eggs and tomato sauce, essentially." Will took a seat at the couch, wondering if Nico had made enough for two people. He fidgeted with a throw pillow while the thought looped in his mind until Nico brought a plate to him, causing Will to become evermore grateful for him. Will dug in as though he hadn't eaten in days, and enjoyed it so much that he was disappointed upon finishing it. Nico, who had barely taken five bites, regarded his own plate with pride. 

"So... what are you still doing here?" Will asked, after an awkward silence ensued. "Don't you have to, I don't know, train as a child soldier in case there's another war we have to fight for the gods?" 

"You sound bitter?" Will shook his head dismissively, so Nico decided to just answer the question. "I'm staying here with you. Can't have you..." Nico waved his hand, the implication there. Will swallowed, feeling guiltier than ever. "Who knows what you'll even find when you explore this cabin the second you get bored."

"You hiding something?" Will playfully raised an eyebrow and nudged Nico's shoulder. _Play off your feelings, Solace,_ he thought. _Don't let him be burdened with your guilt or fears._

Nico laughed. “Nah, just don’t want you finding the skeleton in the closet.” Will chuckled at what he hoped was a joke. “Besides, I have… things to take care of today. I won’t be out much, or for long periods of time, but I have people to visit.” 

That was ominous, but Will didn’t care too much. He was just glad he was allowed to stay. 

Unfortunately, Nico left soon after this conversation, leaving Will alone with his thoughts until he got back. The thoughts weren’t very positive.

 _You see, Solace? This is what happens when you do fucking dumb shit._ Will never missed the worry in Nico’s eyes every time they met his own. He didn’t--couldn’t--blame Nico for being worried, but it hurt. He didn’t want to consume his thoughts… not like this. _Why did I come here in the first place? I must have just been close to his cabin. Gods, I want bread. I want meth. I’m going to go with bread._

Will knew this stage of the withdrawals. Food and sleep were all he was going to want for a while. He checked Nico’s cupboard-- Girl Scout cookies, thank the gods above. He didn’t feel like making a sacrifice… what if it alerted the gods to where he was? What if they found him, what if they punished him for his crimes? For shooting up so close to their children? What if, oh no what if they hurt him for all of eternity for it?

Will shook his head. Dumb fears: easy to believe, hard to shake off. He still decided against making an offering. Just in case. He crashed on the couch, ate handfuls of cookies, and slept. 

Uneasy dreams. Visions of broken glass, rivers made of fire. Nico, holding a sword that wasn’t his own. Will, blood running through his eyes. He awoke.

When he opened his eyes, he was met with two amazingly bright black eyes on a furry face. A cat! A cat sent by his father, to devour him? No, that’s silly. He heard Nico chuckle and turned his head to face him.

“I see you’ve met Bob Jr.” Nico said, seemingly delighted. 

“This is a cat! A cat named… Bob Jr?” Suddenly the cat glitched, becoming skeletal in appearance. “What! Nico did you see that??”

Nico giggled once again. “Yes, William, I did. She’s technically a kitten, I take care of her sometimes for a friend of mine.”

“That’s adorable,” Will said without thinking. “Hey, how long were you gone for? I fell asleep not long after you left.”

“Less than an hour. It isn’t even technically lunch time,” Will must have looked disappointed at that, because Nico’s face softened, though still bright. “I can make you a quesadilla if you’d like?”

“Oh lord, you have no idea how amazing that sounds.” Will thought about his mother’s quesadillas for a second, remembering the crispiness of the tortilla and the brightness of the sour cream. He looked behind Nico, realizing the kitchen was blurry. “My glasses,” he murmured. 

“Right next to you. When I came back and saw you were asleep, I took them off so you wouldn’t break them.” That was… such a sweet thing to do. He beamed at him and put them on. “So… about that quesadilla….”

“Coming right up, William!” As Nico grinned at the image of Will playing with Bob Jr., Will rubbed the crook of his arm, as it had slight bruising. He grimaced at the deeper bruises he knew would form. 

“I’ll make the sour cream for us.” Will says with determination. He went to the fridge (seriously, how did Nico have all of this?) and brought out a tomato and the container of sour cream. He started dicing the tomato and noticed Nico wrinkling his nose at it. “Don’t knock it till you try it, babe.”

Will didn’t know why calling him ‘babe,’ a nickname he used for so many people, made his skin heat up. _Probably the guilt,_ he decided. He mixed the tomatoes with the sour cream and set that aside, sitting down for a bit. “Hey Nico?”

“Hm?” He hummed. 

“I haven’t properly thanked you. Thank you.”

“That’s not true,” Nico stated. “When you were first coming down from your high, running a fever and probably having deliriums, you thanked me over and over again. For not leaving. Which, I know you weren’t exactly in control at that moment, but that’s a silly thing to thank me for. ‘Not leaving.’” Will was taken aback. 

“W-” He wasn’t sure what to say. “Well, I think that’s a perfectly fine thing to thank you for. Anyone else… anyone else might have left. And in this case, I’m thanking you for more than that. I know you like your privacy. Thank you for letting me stay here. And for… for taking care of me so far.”

Nico winced. Will didn’t know why, what did he say wrong?

“I don’t like the implication that I wouldn’t do this. You’re my--” his voice hitched “--friend, Will Solace.” _Oh._ When did di Angelo become so sweet?

“Oh. Well… let me thank you anyways?” Will didn’t know how he would ever repay Nico, but he could thank him. Fuck, he could thank him. He wanted meth. He really did. 

“Neeks?” Will asked, softly. “You mind if I take a nap?”

“Not at all, William.”

“...Neeks?”

“Yes, William?”

“You mind if you take one with me?”

**Author's Note:**

> tee hee tell me what you thought please  
> tumblr simpingfor.nicodiangelo


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